August 18, 2008 07:30 ET

Skyhook Wireless Integrating Neighborhood Boundary Data From Urban Mapping

Skyhook's Popular Loki Location-Based Search and Navigation Toolbar and MyLoki Location Sharing Service Will Leverage Urban Mapping Neighborhood Boundary Data for More Geo-Relevant Information With Social Context

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - August 18, 2008) - Urban Mapping, Inc., the leading provider of location-rich content for interactive applications, and Skyhook Wireless, maker of the Wi-Fi Positioning System and XPS 2.0, the hybrid positioning system, today announced that Skyhook Wireless is integrating neighborhood boundary data from Urban Mapping's database of more than 60,000 U.S. neighborhoods represented in over 2,400 cities and towns. With Urban Mapping's neighborhood data, Skyhook Wireless can power their Loki™ location-based search and navigation toolbar and the MyLoki™ location sharing service with geo-relevant information defining user location with contextually appropriate and socially accepted neighborhood information.

"Neighborhoods are becoming more and more a part of interactive search applications where location granularity matters," said Ian White, Urban Mapping CEO. "Our relationship with Skyhook Wireless opens up a new ecosystem of interactive applications where location information is equal to social context."

In addition to more than 60,000 U.S. neighborhoods, Urban Mapping's database also includes a collection of international boundary data corresponding to 20,000 neighborhoods across Canada and many European countries. Local search, mapping, GIS, location-based services, real estate, social networks and other interactive applications can tap Urban Mapping's neighborhood boundary data through the company's Urbanware: Neighborhoods™ database product.

"The integration of neighborhood boundary data from Urban Mapping into Skyhook's positioning information will result in more neighborhood-relevant information as part of the Skyhook Wireless Loki service and MyLoki application for Facebook and other social networking sites," said Ryan Sarver, director of consumer products for Skyhook Wireless. "Additionally, the Urban Mapping neighborhood data adds a richness and more context to social connections than just a city-level message or plot on a map. For example, when our MyLoki service messages out that a user has changed locations, we can say that the user has 'just checked into Back Bay in Boston' instead of just indicating that the user is in Boston, Mass."

Urban Mapping's neighborhood boundary database is the most comprehensive database of its kind, enabling increased relevance for users and greater precision for advertisers. Urban Mapping accounts for the inherent 'fuzziness' in defining neighborhood boundaries by using a patent-pending data model. By geographically encoding boundaries of thousands of neighborhoods, Urban Mapping provides precise latitude and longitude points for every neighborhood.

Loki is a location-based search and navigation toolbar that leverages the Skyhook Wireless positioning system to deliver the most relevant content and services based on the user's location. Loki also has a service, called MyLoki, that allows a user to take their current location and broadcast it to a number of services so that they can share it with their friends and family. The MyLoki service also includes an application for Facebook, Twitter integration, a Location Feed (RSS) and map badge for personal blogs. More information on the Skyhook Wireless' Loki and MyLoki service can be found at http://loki.com and http://my.loki.com.

Skyhook Wireless plans to also offer Urban Mapping's neighborhood data though a software developer kit (SDK) for non-commercial use. With this service, developers can create accurate, location-relevant interactive applications pinpointing user location through Skyhook Wireless' WPS technology coupled with neighborhood boundary data from Urban Mapping.

"With Urban Mapping's robust database of neighborhood boundary data, Skyhook Wireless can offer developers contextually relevant geocoding for the creation of location-rich and enabling interactive applications," Sarver said. "As a result, we're more able to meet an increasing marketplace demand for location accuracy and granularity that's driving the development of much deeper, location-rich interactive applications."

ABOUT URBAN MAPPING, INC.

Urban Mapping's location-rich Urbanware products enhance the value of local content for interactive applications. The company's flagship product, Urbanware™ Neighborhoods, is a database of informal space and is used by all major portals, map platforms and Internet yellow page publishers, including Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft's Virtual Earth, Idearc's SuperPages.com, MapQuest and AT&T's YellowPages.com. Urban Mapping also offers a database of mass transit systems and a novel geotargeting solution focused on the needs of local search. For more information about Urban Mapping, visit http://www.urbanmapping.com or call 415.946.8170.

ABOUT SKYHOOK WIRELESS

Founded in 2003, Skyhook Wireless has pioneered the development of the first hybrid positioning system to fully leverage Wi-Fi, GPS and cell towers delivering precise location data supporting the growing market for location-based services. Skyhook's hybrid positioning system XPS requires no new hardware, works indoors and outdoors, provides an instant location and is more accurate than current technologies in congested downtown areas. Skyhook Wireless is headquartered in Boston, MA, and is privately held. Investors include RRE Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Intel Capital and CommonAngels. For more information visit www.skyhookwireless.com, send email to info@skyhookwireless.com or call 617-314-9802.

Urban Mapping and Urbanware are trademarks of Urban Mapping, Inc. Skyhook Wireless, WPS and Loki are trademarks of Skyhook Wireless, Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.